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Reference: VARIOUS Need to understand our own character

Our own make-up. - research
Church: GRACE Date: 8/26/01 Will we function more effectively married or single?
Guidance - Practical Issues It is better to marry than to burn
Being married can cut down our opportunities for service
Purpose: To illustrate guidance principals in matters of marriage, employment, Cut down our time – give us other responsibilities
ministry, possessions etc. How will it fit with any desires we have (e.g.) for missionary
service?
But it will also give many opportunities
1. Introduction
Laying down a framework for Biblical decision making As to the person – again seek wisdom
Have seen ways that should not dominate Moral imperatives – a believer, not unlawfully divorced
Have seen we are free to decide within God’s moral will Will that person edify me in Christ?
What do we need from God to make godly decisions? Will they help me draw nearer to Christ or take me further from
Wisdom. Him?
What means has God given for obtaining it? Balance of personalities, desires
Word, prayer, counsel, research, life (created things) Alignment of doctrinal views, at least as to the central issues
What riders (restraints) should regulate this freedom? I am not sure shared interests are as important as some think
Profitable? Enslaving? Edifying? (other than an interest in Christ!)
Weaker brother, should not be presumptuous Physical attraction should not be too near the top of this list!
Need to be certain
Decision tree given out
Will now try to see how this might apply in practical situations 3. Career Decisions
How to select an appropriate job.
2. Marriage Before you scan the advertisements
How to decide whether to marry or not Work through the decision tree:
If we marry, how to choose a suitable spouse Is working morally right to work? Yes!!
Use decision tree What Scriptures can you think of?
Should I marry or not? Genesis 3:17-19 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and
Am I free to marry? (moral imperatives) ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all
Yes, if I am single or lawfully divorced the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will
Seek wisdom from all sources eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food
until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are
Pray and read the word and to dust you will return.”
What constitutes a godly marriage? Psalm 104:19-23 The moon marks off the seasons, and the sun knows when
to go down. 20 You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of
What is its purpose, what are the roles of husbands and wives? the forest prowl. 21 The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from
Seek godly counsel God. 22 The sun rises, and they steal away; they return and lie down in their
dens. 23 Then man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening.

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Acts 18:3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where
worked with them. moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up
Ephesians 4:28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and
work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there
something to share with those in need. your heart will be also.
1 Thessalonians 4:11 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your John 6:27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to
own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has
2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this placed his seal of approval.”
rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” Hebrews 10:32-34 Remember those earlier days after you had received the
Now seek wisdom: light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering.
33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other
times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You
3.1. What kind of job? Question 2 in tree sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of
your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting
Pray to God for help to choose the right career possessions.
What are the questions to consider? We should not regard things as our own
Acts 4:32-35 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed
Research and ask advice that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they
Where am I gifted? had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34 There were no
What would be an adequate salary? needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or
How will the job affect my ability to serve in a church? houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the
apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
What hours am I prepared to work? 1 Corinthians 4:7 For who makes you different from anyone else? What do
What travel would be acceptable? you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast
as though you did not?
Establish the kind of job you would feel able to do
We should be generous
Probably some definites and a few ideals 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap
sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each
man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or
3.2. Assess individual opportunities - Q2 again under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Pray for God’s help Wealth and possessions are deceitful and dangerous
What location? - is there a good church nearby? Matthew 13:22 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is
the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness
What holidays? - to use in service of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.
What is the moral position of the company Matthew 19:16-22 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what
good thing must I do to get eternal life?” 17 “Why do you ask me about what
Will it dominate my life? is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter
Is it a worthwhile job? life, obey the commandments.” 18 “Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus
replied, ”‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give
false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as
4. Possessions yourself.’” 20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still
lack?” 21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your
Again, use the decision tree possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then
Is this possession morally right? come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad,
because he had great wealth.
Seek wisdom - pray
Research - what would best meet the need?
Principles - how should a Christian regards possessions?
Advice - do others have it? What pitfalls?
What Scriptures are there?
Why do I really want this?
Earthly possessions do not last; heavenly ones do
Do I really need it?
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Will it benefit me and others?
Will it enslave me? Be my God?
Do I believe my justifications?
5. Christian Service
All believers are to serve in the church
What Scriptures are there on this? (constitution)
Acts 6:1-7 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the
Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because
their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the
Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for
us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3
Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the
Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give
our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 5 This proposal pleased
the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy
Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from
Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles,
who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 So the word of God spread. The
number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of
priests became obedient to the faith.
1 Corinthians 16:1-4 Now about the collection for God’s people: Do what I
told the Galatian churches to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each one
of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it
up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. 3 Then, when I
arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them
with your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will
accompany me.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to
do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
The question is in what capacity?
Again apply the decision tree
Pray
Seek wisdom
Principles - what avenues of service are there?
Research - what gifts do I have
Advice - what have others noticed
Nature - what can I learn?
This is the first step
You can be absolutely sure there is something you can do
God has gifted you and only you to do something in His church
Find out what it is and do it!
But other questions arise:
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5.1. Eldership
Where do we look for the qualifications of an elder?
1 Tim 3:1-7 Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being
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an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above
reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled,
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respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent
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but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own
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family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If
anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care
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of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become
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conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have
a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into
the devil’s trap.
Titus 1:5-9 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out
what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.
6 An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose
children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.
7 Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless—
not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent,
not pursuing dishonest gain. 8 Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves
what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9 He must
hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can
encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
The desire
The gift
The opportunity
Confirmed by a local church - can’t go it alone
Can also use decision tree here
Can I accept this with a clear conscience?
5.2. Missionary Activity
What scriptures?
Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the
age.”
Acts 13:1-3 In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been
brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping
the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and
Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and
prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
Likely to be a desire again
Use decision tree
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What are my gifts?

Do they point to missionary service?
What about physical/emotional/mental fitness?
What about family responsibilities?
Should we jettison children or older relatives for this?

6. Conclusions
See how to approach decisions
Always pray, always meditate, always seek wisdom
Then make the best decision you can

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